Hockey stick



AprillS, 1950 .LRYERGER 2,504,242

HOCKEY STICK Filed Jan. 4, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 J. R. YERGER HOCKEY STICK April 1s, 195o 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 4, 1946 Patented Apr. 18, 1950 `UNI TED (S f-'PAT'E'N T HO FF I CE HOKEY STICK -JohnRoy Yerger, Littz, Pa.

"ApplicationJanuary 4, 1946; Serial'No. 639;()19

(Cl.v Z13- 67) 6 Claims.

l vMy invention relates to-/hockey sticks. One purposeof the"invention-is toproduceva durable well-balanced hockey stick lwhich-will in- 'sure safety,con'ifort` and poise to thefplayerv'an'd vreduce'the danger of breakage due tothe rough usage which a hockey stick ordinarily un'der- YgOeS. i

A further purpose is' to-reinforce' the yjointfbetween `a`hockeystick handle *and thefrear and upper partof the/blade of'thestick.

A further purpose is'notonly'tostrengthenthe jointbi a4 handle"arid-"bladeA by "overlappingI parts which have'thergra-ins inidiferent directions but additionally to reinforce the-jointbyitheselection and arrangement "of the thicknesses of `the overlapping partsfand particularly by' taperin'g in selected ways the parts' whichl overlap,l so

` that they may perform' their stren'gthen'ing func- "tionsto' the best advantage.

A`further`purpose'isto mortice and tenonfa terminal of a hockey stick 'handle and the blade with which it is usedjta'pering the'handlelrearwardlyand upwardly, and to're'inorcethe joint thus formed -by plates overlappingatthe heel-"of the stick, tapered transversely in 4a-"direction re- 'verse to the utransverse tapering of "the yparts under' the plates.

A' further purpose is to-providcva rnortice'df and tenoned' joint at the immediate junction `oi the handle and blade 'of a hockey" stick, and'J to `reinforce this joint with laminations consistent-with the ultimate "contour "of theiinished `'stickand blade blending "with thead'j acentl upper' portions of thehandleand outer'portions of thef-blade.

A'iurther purpose is to'use'a v'rnorticed-'a1.'1d tenoned jointv adjacent'A to the heel-of a l hockey stickin 'connection`with reduced exterior-portions ofboth, which shall exteriorly Ataper rinex- 'cess'oi the normal'taper ofthe-adjacent parts of 'the'handle and blade, Aand lto make-up` -f'or -or *supplement theexcessive taper oi thisy por-tionof the joint 'or reduced `'fthickness,#extending from :the heel-ntoboth thefhanfdle andfthelblada'fby Alaminations at thisipointj-which:conform *the Aoutside of the' laminations with or tothevnorrnal contours of thefhandle-andblade.

This invention completely eliminates-thefcostly and wasteful Lvmethod of bending morefgenerally' employed, which -r-nethodfalwaysv distorts the 'grain of the `fwcod, destroying its original strength and producing a= stick subject-to warp and change, particularly in the anglefefirelationship of the 'blade 'to the'han'dleofthe hockey stick.

#mined 1' angle relationship vof A.the 'blade @to the 1 handlej as`v maybe 'desiredfaand lallows theilselection and usetof `the ybest qualitylmaterialssuit- -fablefor hockey-stick manufacture,` andv Aproduces .-a'hockey stickof'moreorCless resilience orrispring and balanceas may be desired.

`I- pre-f er4 to illustrate my invention byeone form i only,y selecting a form whichislight,` strong-and effective and which at the same time-well fililustrates the principles otlrnyfinvention.

.'Ffigure 1 is affragmentary side elevation ofthe lower-part of a completed? hockey stick"y :showing crossinggrain in the handle shaft as Ewell #as f crossing-grain inlthe heel Iarea of thelblade ofthe hockey stick. This method -of#construction:per- Irnits the f-use of A"any desired angle Yof .the blade 45 as may bepreferred.

This invention insures :fa 'l constant, f'predeter- 56 the entire blade and the lower portion-ofthe stick.

f Figure 2= is aftopplan View lofthe construction seen in Figure 1.

Figure "-3 is-a vfragmentary rear eridelevation of` thefstructure of Figure 1.

fFigture'l is afbottom plan view'ofthestructure `:Figure `5' is af 4disassembled View of the' several f parts infseparated-positions ready for connection togethers'toassemble the finished stick.

Vfligure ^6-isf af-sect-io'n u-ponf line 6-25 f Figure 1. In the drawings similar numerals indicate 'like parts.

Broadly, -in this 'invention separate handle tenonisiocated onthe'heel ehd oftheblade' and center ofI` the` sole of i the? lblade l to-v alr peint ionl'the handle shaft. Into these recesses are LEpermay-nently placed laminations,- one on each side or face, which laminat/ions? -have the (grain .oi the Wood'- runningf'parallelhto their` longest -s-idesthus to vthe rvhandle shaitfandper-:mits any lbladezwi'dth L'Iheflan-iinated construction.:haszimany advantages; in that it ynotonly -gives 4the normal -strengthdue to crossedv grainsiindicated-above, present in` everylaminated structure, .but it. gives opportunity fto Ause the best or-most1available type of `wood or pieces of woodi'or the'handle and blade, respectively, withoutiirstshaving"regard for the` capacitykof the-'wood for'fstarding --up fagairist blows, `and `to ytake l'care :.of the 3 resistance-to-impact factor by special selection of the laminations applied on opposite sides of the joint and by the strength given to the laminations. Each of these laminations will be relatively thin at the neck, between the blade and handle, and progressively thicker as it approaches the heel.

The tapering of the walls of the lower end of the handle about the mortice slot, progressively thickening from the back to the front, are just the opposite of those which are desirable-if there is to be a taperin the nished joint; and this reversed taper is provided in order to permit a considerable taper, progressively becoming thicker front to back in the laminations upon the sides of the joint.

The tapers of the laminations may be just sufcient to overbalance the reversed taper given by the mortice wall, where the over-all thickness is intended to be uniform or, may underbalance this taper or overbalance it, according to the direction and extent of taper of cross section intended in the nal joint.

The inserts tted within the recesses (i. e., the laminations at opposite side faces) will ordinarily be slightly thicker than is ultimately intended in the finished stick so as to allow for the final contouring of the joint, blade and adjacent part of the handle.

The handle 8 is tapered as usual from some point 8' and the taper is carried down through the joint between the handle and the blade, into the blade and out to the toe of the blade. The lower end 9 of the handle is carried down to the heel IIJ at the rear of the joint between the handle and the blade.

The lower end 9 of the handle is morticed at I I for a tenon I2 at the rear end of the blade, and this tenon extends rearwardly within the mortice and upwardly to such an extent that its upper end I3 reaches approximately to the upper end of the curve I4 upon the front and upper surface of the handle and blade at their junction. The two are glued together with any suitable laminating glue.

The mortice is preferably, though not necessarily, of uniform thickness across the space between the side members. The parts of uniform thickness may :be glued together preliminarily to the gluing of the rest of the joint, or this gluing can be eIected at the same time as the application of laminations to the outside of the joint, and lwith the same type of glue. In either case both parts of the gluing may be produced under the most favorable conditions of pressure, with or without heat and with or without waterproong.

Not only do the handle near the blade and the blade taper longitudinally, progressively reducing in size toward the blade and toward the toe end of the blade, as indicated, but from a location about the rear end of the blade and approximately at the heel I to the end of the blade, the blade part is thickened toward the sole as compared with the thickness at the top.

In other words, the top of the blade, from the throat area to the toe is preferably thinner than is the blade at the heel and at the sole. Part of this reduction in thickness of the top as compared with the heel and sole occurs through sanding but there should be a denite slope rearwardly and downwardly, the sides diverging from the top of the blade toward the sole.

Though it is permissible to have a taper in transverse direction upon the lower portion of the handle, this does not have the same importance as the taper in the blade, and the sides of the handle may be parallel.

The sides of the lower part of the handle and of the blade blend one into the other, from the throat and through the lower part of the handle and the blade immediately adjacent to the heel, and extending out into the sole.

The initial joint .between the handle and the blade is of course that between the sides of the mortice and tenon, in which the grain of the walls of the mortice is at an angle whose degree `will be different for different sticks, with the grain of the tenon, lforming a three-ply laminated structure capable of being glued separately under pressure and forming a strong initial joint. However, I find it very desirable to reenforce this joint by two opposite outside laminations having the grain of each across the grains of both the handle and blade. These laminations are glued to the oors of recesses in the opposite sides of the joint, forming a ve-ply laminated structure not only at the heel but throughout the entire section occupied by the mortice and tenon joint. This has various advantages. It not only generally reenforces the mortice and tenon joint but it can be carried above the mortice into the adjacent handle section and forward toward the toe in the blade beyond the tenon, to give a cross lamination tie at the heel and about the entire joint. It also permits the use of a wood which is better suited to stand impacts than is the wood of either handle or blade, for a protecting outer cover for the joint.

In placing the laminations, the recesses in the lower end of the handle and the rear portion of the blade are cut to a depth suicient to give a thicker lamination at the heel than at the throat, the surface of the recess extending from a point in the rear of the handle preferably above the mortice portion and extending continuously across the outside walls of the mortice and across the adjacent part of the blade to the sole of the blade.

The bottom surfaces or floors of the recesses in the lower part of the handle and in the blade lie within a single plane such that the laminating surface intended to t in may also be formed as a plane which will unite to the best advantage continuously with the bottoms of the merging recesses.

As the laminations I5 are exposed at the heel edge at I0 in a projecting angle, where they sandwich the tenon heel |02, it is desirable that they be relatively thick at this heel. There is not quite so great need of thickness in the laminations along the throat edge, containing the curved surface I4. To take care of this to the best advantage, the laminations are tapered transversely from some such zone as the throat to the heel angle at I0. This again is relatively a renement by which the structure is considerably improved but which could be omitted while retaining a, very desirable laminated joint.

In the middle of the blade and in its outer parts, a definite taper is shown from the top toward the sole, the blade progressively becoming thicker as the sole is approached. Because of the sanding operation there will usually be a greater reduction of thickness at the immediate top than is justified by the general taper of the parts.

The walls I6 of the lower end of the handle embrace the tenon at the rear of the blade I'I where the blade has been cut away to form arrosage shoulders-lor ledge Tfaces tapering `from il 8 to l'8.

The mortice jand *tenon fjoint not only slopes lengthwise -foff'thef stio-k, but slopes trom-the -r'ear `they correspondfwith the ledge `iac'es from i8 to i8. The "blade may-or may-"not be 'of 4uniform `thickness or slope-atthe joint'b'ut in V'the main,

slopes from its thinner top-edge `2|J itoward the thicker 'solei 2 I.

'In the llinishecl .stick the islop'e 'of the handle ends about 1Athe mortice is `balanced forovercome in fthe laminations applied 1 on opposite faces.

The taper lfofv the 4sides about *the mortice 'is balanced or approximately "balanced in the illustrati'onby the oppositely directed taper -of lthe laminations. Anot interfere `withtheV preferred uniform thick- The efforts from 'the two" tapers do lof the'handle and`blade ultimately are thicker at the rear portion of the stick or the lower portion of the blade (sole) than at some other part of the joint, or at the top or front of the blade or handle at some other part is a matter of policy in construction of the stick--usually a matter of balance, or of preference or whim on the part of the hockey players for whose use the sticks are intended. My method of construction and the character of stick thus completed are capable of adaptation to any such need or preference.

The recesses not only extend upwardly into the handle beyond the mortice so as to avoid having the end of the laminations against the shoulder coincide with the end of the mortice, but forwardly into the blade so as to avoid having the end of the laminations there coincide with the front end of the tenon. The floors 29 and 30 of the recesses merge, one with the other, so as to require single laminations only to unite with both floors, in a joint whose strength is greatly improved by extension of the laminations up into the handle above the mortice and forwardly into the blade beyond the tenon.

Of course, the initial joint between the handle and blade is secured by the mortice and tenon, which themselves give three laminations having wood grains at angles to each other, varying in grain angle with the angle made by the blade with respect to the handle in the particular stick in question. This angle varies considerably.

Throughout the mortice and tenon section the number of laminations is increased by the laminations upon the outside of the joint, so that, in the joint area there are five laminations. Beyond the mortice and tenon joint, up into the handle and forwardly into the length of the blade, the body of the handle and the blade are laminated by the outside plates only giving the three layers within these sections, with a smaller angle between the grain directions than in the mortice and tenon joints but the same difference in grain directions that are present between the laminati-ng layer the foutside `l`of #the yhandle fait Lthe joint. v

It Lwill-:be understood that -a denite policy 'of --taper and direction di Vtaper `.in 'cross sections through lthe joint--and'through the blade `will be maintained Vin-contouring `-the-'s`tick,-.but that this policy as a policy-will yield 'somewhat to variations/lin contourndueftosand-ing which will relieve vor-alter the tapers'adjacent-theedges and because vwof the balance which 'must be secured in Norder that the stickvmaymfeelright. This depends in part'uponthe balance fof lthesti'ckiitseli and vin part upon the idiosyncra'sies oftheintending l-user.

It ywill be evident that Athe stick, as described,

is sturdy, eiective, capable of adjustment-"to any "oflthe needs of service so--as `tri-satisfy vthe most exacting player and capable of exact Ibalance lby variations inthe proportions o'f the/different 'features present.

In view ofmy invention and disclosure variations and modifica-tions to I meetindividual vwhim 2or'partcular need `will doubtless lbecome evident -to others skilled 'in the art, tol'obtain all orpart Vo'fthe "beneiitsof my invention without-copying the structure shown, and I, therefore, claim Vall such inso'ar as they fall within the r`reasonable spirit and scope of my claims.

AHaving thus described my invention what I lclaim -as new yand desire to secure by *Letters Patent is:

1. In a hockey stick, a blade having a tenon, and a handle tapered lengthwise toward a joint with the blade, the handle being morticed and glued to the tenon of said blade to form a joint, and laminations conforming and glued to a recessed surface of the handle outside the mortice and to a recessed portion of the blade adjacent to the tenon.

2. A laminated joint for the handle and the blade of a hockey stick, comprising a mortice and tenon glue joint and laminations over and outside the mortice and tenon area and extending up on to the handle and down on to the blade on both lateral sides of the joint and glued to the handle and blade, the handle end of the mortice and tenon joint being tapered to progressively reduce in thickness toward the lower end of the handle and to progressively reduce in thickness from the front of the handle to the rear of the handle and the laminations progressively increasing in thickness from the front of the joint to the heel of the blade, and at opposite ends extending repectively into recesses within opposite side faces of the handle and opposite side faces of the blade.

3. In a hockey stick, a handle and blade having mortice and tenon glue union between them and recessed surfaces on the outsides of the handle and blade adjacent the tenon, the mortice portion at the joint tapering from greater thickness at the front face of the handle to a lesser thickness at the rear face of the handle and from a greater thickness at the handle edge of the mortice to a lesser thickness at the blade edge of the mortice and laminations tting within theI recesses in the outer surfaces of the handle and blade across the joint, the laminations tapering from a lesser thickness at the front of the joint to greater thickness at the heel of the joint, and laminating glue holding the laminations to the handle and blade across the joint.

4. In a hockey stick, a handle and blade having mortice and tenon glue union between them and recessed surfaces on the outside of the mortice,

on the handle adjacent the mortice and on the blade adjacent the tenon, the mortice tapering from a greater thickness at the front of the handle to a lesser thickness at the rear of the handle and from a greater thickness at the handle to a lesser thickness at the edge of the blade and laminations fitting Within the recesses in the outer surfaces of the mortice, reversing the taper at the mortice from front to back of the handle. and laminating glue holding the laminations to the stick and blade across the joint.

5. In a hockey stick, a handle portion cut to form a mortice Whose Walls progressively reduce in thickness from the longitudinal side toward the blade to the opposite longitudinal side, and from the handle end of the mortice toward the heel of the stick, a blade, a tenon carried by the blade, tting into and glued into the mortice, there being recesses in the handle on each side of the mortice and extending beyond the mortice Atoward the grip end of the handle, there being recesses in the blade on each side of the tenen and extending away from the heel With respect to the tenon, the longitudinal Walls of the recesses in the handle and in the blade at each side of the stick forming a flat surface, and laminations in the recesses outside of the mortice, uniting and glued to the longitudinal walls of the recesses, and extending beyond the tenon along the blade and back of the mortice along the handle, the

grain in the laminations extending at an angle to the grains in both the handle and the blade.

6. A laminated joint for the handle and the blade of a hockey stick, comprising a mortice and tenon glued joint and laminations outside the mortice and tenon area and extending up on to the handle and down on to the blade on both lateral sides of the joint, beyond the joint at each end, and glued to the handle and blade, the portion of the mortice and tenon joint integral with the handle being tapered progressively to reduce in thickness toward the lower end of the handle and to progressively reduce in thickness from the longitudinal side of the handle toward the blade to the opposite longitudinal side of the handle, the laminations fitting in recesses of the handle and blade whose longitudinal walls form a flat surface and the laminations themselves being tapered to conform to the taper of the blade and handle.

JOI-IN ROY YERGER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 332,060 Davis Dec. 8, 1885 1,601,116 Hall Sept. 28, 1926 

